System and method capable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus to execute program

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a system capable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus to execute program. The system comprises a cloud management platform and at least one electronic apparatus. The electronic apparatus comprises a data storage device and a program execution management device. The data storage device comprises a plurality of flash memories and a controller. The program execution management device comprises a microprocessor having a network communication function. When the cloud management platform wants the electronic device to execute a specific operation or collect a specific information, it will send a specific operation instruction to the program execution management device. The microprocessor of the program execution management device wants that the controller of the data storage device executes a corresponding operation program according to the specific operation instruction to generate an execution message related to the specific operation, and then transmits the execution message to the cloud management platform.

This non-provisional application claims priority claim under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Taiwan Patent Application No. 108126860 filed Jul. 29, 2019,the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for controlling theelectronic apparatus to execute program, more particularly, a system andmethod for remotely controlling the electronic apparatus to executeprogram.

BACKGROUND

With the needs of life, unattended electronic devices such as vendingmachines, advertising machines, monitors, etc. are often seen on theroad.

In the past, when the operating system of the electronic apparatus wascrashed or damaged, the engineer had to go to the installation locationof the electronic apparatus in person to repair the operating system ofthe electronic device, for example, restarting or restoring theoperating system of the electronic apparatus. If the installationlocation of the electronic apparatus is very remote or the operatingsystems of a large number of electronic apparatuses are crashed ordamaged, it will cause a serious burden on the repairing work ofoperating system.

Nowadays, the electronic apparatus is often equipped with a networkcommunication module. The remote manager can directly update theinternal data of the electronic apparatus or execute one or morespecific operations for the electronic apparatus via the networkcommunication module. The cloud management platform is usually tocontrol or manage the electronic apparatus in a way of In-Band, whichmust be performed in an operating environment of an operating system,and adopted a general data transmission channel (such as transmissionchannel of SATA or PCIe) to transmit the instructions to be used forcontrolling the electronic apparatus. The cloud management platformcontrols or manages the electronic apparatus by the way of In-Band, oncethe operating system of the electronic apparatus crashes or fails, themanager of the cloud management platform cannot perform any operationsfor the electronic apparatus, and can only wait for the engineering togo to the installation location of the electronic apparatus, and repairthe operating system of the electronic apparatus.

SUMMARY

It is one objective of the present invention to provide a system andmethod capable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus to executeprogram, in which the system comprises a cloud management platform andat least one electronic apparatus, the electronic apparatus comprises adata storage device and a program execution management device, the datastorage device comprises a plurality of flash memories and a controller,the program execution management device comprises a microprocessor thatis having a network communication function and equipped with an embeddedsystem, the microprocessor of the program execution management device isconnected to the controller of the data storage device via a dedicatedconnection line. The manager of the cloud management platform can managecan remotely manage the programs executed by the controller of the datastorage device via the program execution management device, themicroprocessor of the program execution management device can directlycommunicate with the controller of the data storage device via thededicated connection line without the assistance of the operating systemand the data transmission channel during the program executionmanagement device managing the programs executed by the controller.Accordingly, when the operating system of the data storage device failsor the data storage device does not has the operating system, themanager of the cloud management platform at the remote end, via theprogram execution management device, can still control that thecontroller of the data storage device executes the operation of thespecific program.

To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a systemcapable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus to execute program,comprising: a cloud management platform, comprising a managementinterface; and at least one electronic apparatus, each of the electronicapparatuses comprising: a data storage device comprising a plurality offlash memories and a controller connected to the flash memories, thecontroller comprising a firmware, wherein, a plurality of operationprograms are defined in the firmware; and a program execution managementdevice comprising a microprocessor and a network communication componentconnected to the microprocessor, wherein the program executionmanagement device is communicated with the cloud management platform viathe network communication component, and the microprocessor of theprogram execution management device is connected to the controller ofthe data storage device via a connection line; wherein the cloudmanagement platform sends a specific operation instruction to theprogram execution management device when the cloud management platformwants that the electronic apparatus executes a specific operation, themicroprocessor of the program execution management device transmits thespecific operation instruction to the controller of the data storagedevice; afterwards, the controller executes the corresponding operationprogram according to a requirement of the specific operation instructionto generate an execution message related to the specific operation, andtransmits the execution message related to the specific operation to thecloud management platform.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the microprocessorof the program execution management device is equipped with an embeddedsystem, which is used to manage the operation programs executed by thecontroller.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform is aninstruction for collecting health information of the data storagedevice, the controller executes a program for collecting healthinformation of the data storage device according to the instruction forcollecting health information of the data storage device, and generate afile containing the health information of the data storage device;afterwards, the program execution management device receives the filecontaining the health information of the data storage device from thecontroller via the connection line, and transmits the file containingthe health information of the data storage device to the cloudmanagement platform via the network communication component.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform is a dataencryption instruction, the data encryption instruction includes anencryption key, the controller executes a data encryption programaccording to the data encryption instruction to encrypt data in theflash memories by the encryption key in the data encryption instruction,and generates a message indicating the completion of encryption of dataafter the data encryption program has executed; afterwards, the programexecution management device receives the message indicating thecompletion of encryption of data from the controller via the connectionline, and transmits the message indicating the completion of encryptionof data to the cloud management platform via the network communicationcomponent.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the data storagedevice further comprises an encryption chip connected to the controllerand the flash memories, the specific operation instruction sent from thecloud management platform is a data encryption instruction, thecontroller executes a data encryption program according to the dataencryption instruction to encrypt data in the flash memories by theencryption chip, and generates a message indicating the completion ofencryption of data after the data encryption program has executed;afterwards, the program execution management device receives the messageindicating the completion of encryption of data from the controller viathe connection line, and transmits the message indicating the completionof encryption of data to the cloud management platform via the networkcommunication component.

In one embodiment of the present invention, where the specific operationinstruction sent from the cloud management platform is a data erasioninstruction, the controller executes a data erasion program according tothe data erasion instruction to erase data in blocks of the flashmemories, and generates a message indicating the completion of erasionof data after the data erasion program has executed; afterwards, theprogram execution management device receives the message indicating thecompletion of erasion of data from the controller via the connectionline, and transmits the message indicating the completion of erasion ofdata to the cloud management platform via the network communicationcomponent.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform is aphysical destruction instruction, the controller executes a physicaldestruction program according to the physical destruction instruction todestroy the flash memories by a high voltage that is outputted from ahigh voltage circuit enabled by the controller, and generates a messageindicating the completion of physical destruction after the physicaldestruction program has executed; afterwards, the program executionmanagement device receives the message indicating the completion ofphysical destruction from the controller via the connection line, andtransmits the message indicating the completion of physical destructionto the cloud management platform via the network communicationcomponent.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the flash memoriesof the data storage device is formed with a data sector, at least onepartition is cut out from the data sector by the controller, thespecific operation instruction sent from the cloud management platformis a write protection setting instruction, the controller executes awrite protection setting program according to the write protectionsetting instruction to set the partition of the flash memories to be aread-only area for prohibiting to be written, and generates a messageindicating the completion of setting write protection after the writeprotection setting program has executed; afterwards, the programexecution management device receives the message indicating thecompletion of setting write protection from the controller via theconnection line, and transmits the message indicating the completion ofsetting write protection to the cloud management platform via thenetwork communication component.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform is anupdating firmware instruction, the updating firmware instructionincludes a firmware updating file, the controller executes an updatingfirmware program according to the updating firmware instruction toupdate the firmware of the controller by the firmware updating file, andgenerates a message indicating the completion of updating firmware afterthe updating firmware program has executed; afterwards, the programexecution management device receives the message indicating thecompletion of updating firmware from the controller via the connectionline, and transmits the message indicating the completion of updatingfirmware to the cloud management platform via the network communicationcomponent.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the microprocessorof the program execution management device is a chip with networkcommunication function, the network communication component isintegrated in the microprocessor.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the electronic apparatusfurther comprises a circuit board, the flash memories and the controllerof the data storage device and the microprocessor and the networkcommunication component of the program execution management device aredisposed on the circuit board.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the electronic apparatuscomprises a first circuit board and a second circuit board, the flashmemories and the controller of the data storage device are disposed onthe first circuit board, and the microprocessor and the networkcommunication component of the program execution management device aredisposed on the second circuit board.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the microprocessorof the program execution management device is connected to thecontroller of the data storage device via the connection line conformingto RS232 specification, UART specification, or I2C specification.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the data storagedevice is a data storage device having a SATA transmission interface, aPCIe transmission interface or an M.2 transmission interface.

In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the networkcommunication component is a WiFi communication component, an Ethernetcommunication component, or a 3G, 4G or 5G communication component.

The present invention further provides a method capable of remotelycontrolling electronic apparatus to execute program, which is applied toa system capable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus to executeprogram, the system comprises a cloud management platform and at leastone electronic apparatus, the electronic apparatus comprises a datastorage device and a program execution management device, the datastorage device comprises a plurality of flash memories and a controller,the controller comprises a firmware, a plurality of operation programsare defines in the firmware, the program execution management devicecomprises a microprocessor that is having a network communicationfunction and equipped with an embedded system, the microprocessor of theprogram execution management device is connected to the controller ofthe data storage device via a connection line, steps of the methodcapable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus to execute programcomprising: requiring the program execution management device tocommunicate with the cloud management platform; requiring the programexecution management device to receive a specific operation instructionsent from the cloud management platform; requiring the program executionmanagement device to transmit the specific operation instruction to thecontroller of the data storage device; requiring the controller of thedata storage device to execute a specific operation of the correspondingoperation program according to the specific operation instruction andgenerate an execution message related to the specific operation; andrequiring the program execution management device to receive theexecution message related to the specific operation from the controllerof the data storage device via the connection line and transmit theexecution message related to the specific operation to the cloudmanagement platform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an architecture diagram of a system capable of remotelycontrolling the electronic apparatus to execute program according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the electronic apparatus according to oneapplication embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the electronic apparatus according toanother application embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the electronic apparatus according toanother application embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the electronic apparatus according toanother application embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of the electronic apparatus according toanother application embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of the electronic apparatus according toanother application embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of the electronic apparatus according toanother application embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method capable of remotely controlling theelectronic apparatus to execute program according to the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, there are shown an architecture diagramof a system capable of remotely controlling the electronic apparatus toexecute program according to the present invention, and a circuitdiagram of the electronic apparatus according to one applicationembodiment of the present invention, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1and FIG. 2, the system 100 comprises a cloud management platform 10 andat least one electronic apparatus 30. The electronic apparatus 30 is avending machine, an advertising machine, a monitor, a POS (Point ofSale) machine, a monitor, or other equipment with specific purpose. Amanager of the cloud management platform 10 can remotely control theelectronic apparatus 30 to execute a specific program.

The electronic apparatus 30 comprises a data storage device 31 and aprogram execution management device 33. The data storage device 31 maybe a solid state disk (SSD) having a SATA transmission interface, a PCIetransmission interface or an M.2 transmission interface. The datastorage device 31 comprises a plurality of flash memories 311 and acontroller 313. The controller 313 is connected to the flash memories311. The controller 313 comprises a firmware 3131. A plurality ofoperation programs 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326 are defined in thefirmware 3131. Besides, the flash memories 311 of the data storagedevice 31 may be installed with an operating system, or without anoperating system.

The program execution management device 33 comprises a microprocessor331. In one embodiment of the present invention, the microprocessor 331is a chip with network communication function, for example, a networkcommunication component 333 is integrated in the microprocessor 331. Inanother embodiment of the present invention, the microprocessor 331 andthe network communication component 333 are independent components,respectively, and the microprocessor 331 is connected to the networkcommunication component 333. Besides, the microprocessor 331 is equippedwith an embedded system 332, which is an architecture system of Linux orRTOS (such as TinyOS) and is stored in non-volatile memories (NVMs). Themicroprocessor 331 of the program execution management device 33, by theembedded system 332, manages that the controller 313 executes theoperation program 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, or 326. The program executionmanagement device 33 is communicated with the cloud management platform10 via the network communication component 333. The networkcommunication component 333 is a WiFi communication component, anEthernet communication component, a 3G, 4G or 5G communicationcomponent, or other networkable communication component. Themicroprocessor 331 of the program execution management device 33 isconnected to the controller 313 of the data storage device 31 via adedicated connection line 3312. The microprocessor 331 and thecontroller 313 can transmit data to each other via the connection line3312. The connection line 3312 may be a connection line conforming toRS232 specification, UART specification, or I2C specification.

One embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the datastorage device 31 and the program execution management device 33 can beintegrated into a single device, and the electronic components of thedata storage device 31 and the program execution management device 33are all disposed on the same circuit board. For example, the flashmemories 311, the controller 313, the microprocessor 331, the networkcommunication component 333 are all disposed on a circuit board 340.Another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, thedata storage device 31 and the program execution management device 33are separate devices, and the electronic components of the data storagedevice 31 and the program execution management device 33 arerespectively disposed on different circuit boards. For example, theflash memories 311 and the controller 313 of the data storage device 31are disposed on a first circuit board 341, and the microprocessor 331and the network communication component 333 of the program executionmanagement device 33 are disposed on a second circuit board 342.

When the manager of the cloud management platform 10 wants that theelectronic apparatus 30 executes a specific operation, it will sends aspecific operation instruction 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, or 106 to theelectronic apparatus 30 by a management interface 11. The managementinterface 11 may be an application programming interface in WEB form(WEB App). After the program execution management device 33 receives thespecific operation instruction 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, or 106 sent fromthe cloud management platform 10 via the network communication component333, the microprocessor 331 of the program execution management device33 transmits the specific operation instruction 101, 102, 103, 104, 105,or 106 to the controller 313 via the connection line 3312 so as torequire that the controller 313 of the data storage device 31 executes acorresponding operation program 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, or 326according to the specific operation instruction 101, 102, 103, 104, 105,or 106, and therefore generates at least one execution message relatedto the specific operation. Then, the microprocessor 331 of the programexecution management device 33 receives the execution message related tothe specific operation from the controller 313 via the connection line3312, and transmits the execution message related to the specificoperation to the cloud management platform 10 via the networkcommunication component 333. The cloud management platform 10 afterreceiving the execution message related to the specific operation, themanager of the cloud management platform 10 can know that the specificoperation has been executed by the controller 313 of the data storagedevice 31.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in one application embodiment of thepresent invention, for monitoring a service life of the data storagedevice 31, the manager of the cloud management platform 10 can controlthat the electronic apparatus 30 executes an operation for collectinghealth information of the data storage device 31, and therefore send aninstruction 101 for collecting health information of the data storagedevice 31 to the electronic apparatus 30. After the program executionmanagement device 33 of the electronic apparatus 30 receives theinstruction 101 sent from the cloud management platform 10 via thenetwork communication component 333, the microprocessor 331 of theprogram execution management device 33 transmits the instruction 101 tothe controller 313 via the connection line 3312, and then the controller313 of the data storage device 31 executes a program 321 for collectinghealth information of the data storage device 31 according to therequirement of the instruction 101. The controller 313 will generate afile 361 containing the health information of the data storage device 31after the health information of the data storage device 31 hascollected. The program execution management device 33 receives the file361 from the controller 313 via the connection line 3312, and transmitsthe file 361 to the cloud management platform 10 via the networkcommunication component 333. The health information in the file 361 willdisplay on the management interface 11 of the cloud management platform10 when the cloud management platform 10 receives the file 361.Accordingly, the manager of the cloud management platform 10 can knowthe health status of the current data storage device 31 by analyzing thehealth information of the data storage device 31 in the file 361, andtherefore determine whether to replace the data storage device 31 of theelectronic apparatus 30.

During the controller 313 reading and writing the flash memory 311 ofthe data storage device 31, the controller 313 has record someparameters related to the health information of the data storage device31, such as Raw Bit Error Rate (RBER), Program/Erase cycle (P/E cycle),average erase count, later bad block count, program fail count,unexpected power loss, etc., and these parameters of health informationare recorded in a memory unit 3133, for example, non-volatile memory(NVM). Afterwards, when the controller 313 executes the program 321 forcollecting the health information of the data storage device 31, it willcapture these parameters of health information from the memory unit3133, and therefore generate the file 361 containing the healthinformation of the data storage device 31.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is a circuit diagram of the electronicapparatus according to another application embodiment of the presentinvention, and referring to FIG. 1, simultaneously. In this presentapplication embodiment, the manager of the cloud management platform 10can control that the electronic apparatus 30 executes an operation ofencrypting data, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4. When the manager of thecloud management platform 10 wants that the electronic apparatus 30executes the operation of encrypting data, he sends a data encryptioninstruction 102 to the electronic apparatus 30 via the managementinterface 11. The data encryption instruction 102 includes an encryptionkey 1021. After the electronic apparatus 30 receives the data encryptioninstruction 102 sent from the cloud management platform 10 via thenetwork communication component 333, the microprocessor 331 of theprogram execution management device 33 will transmit the data encryptioninstruction 102 to the controller 313 via the connection line 3312, andthen the controller 313 of the data storage device 31 will execute adata encryption program 322 according to the requirement of the dataencryption instruction 102. During the execution of the data encryptionprogram 322, the controller 313 encrypts data 3111 stored in the flashmemories 311 by the encryption key 1021 in the data encryptioninstruction 102. The controller 313 will generate a message 362indicating the completion of encryption of data after the dataencryption program 322 has executed. The program execution managementdevice 33 receives the message 362 from the controller 313 via theconnection line 3312, and transmits the message 362 to the cloudmanagement platform 10 via the network communication component 333. Themanager of the cloud management platform 10 can know that the data 3111in the data storage device 31 has been encrypted after the cloudmanagement platform 10 receives the message 362 indicating thecompletion of encryption of data. Accordingly, the manager of the cloudmanagement platform 10 at the remote end can encrypt the data 3111stored in the electronic apparatus 30 to prevent others from easilyaccessing data 3111 in the electronic apparatus 30.

In the above embodiment of the present invention, the encryptionprotection of the data 3111 of the data storage device 31 is performedby using the encryption key 1021 in a way of software. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, the encryption protection of thedata 3111 of the data storage device 31 is performed by using anencryption chip in a way of hardware. As shown in FIG. 4, the datastorage device 31 further comprises an encryption chip 317. Theencryption chip 317 is connected to the controller 313 and the flashmemories 311. When the controller 313 receives the data encryptioninstruction 102, it will execute the data encryption program 322 toencrypt data 3111 of the flash memories 311 by the encryption chip 317.The controller 313 generate a message 362 indicating the completion ofencryption of data after the data 3111 of the flash memories 311 hasencrypted by the encrypted chip 317. The program execution managementdevice 33 receives the message 362 from the controller 313 via theconnection line 3312, and transmits the message 362 to the cloudmanagement platform 10 via the network communication component 333. Inthe present invention, the controller 313 and the encryption chip 317are independent chips, or the controller 313 and the encryption chip 317may be integrated into a single chip.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is a circuit diagram of the electronicapparatus according to another application embodiment of the presentinvention, and referring to FIG. 1, simultaneously. In this presentembodiment, the manager of the cloud management platform 10 can controlthat the electronic apparatus 30 executes an operation of erasing data,as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5. When the manager of the cloud managementplatform 10 wants that the electronic apparatus 30 executes theoperation of erasing data, he sends a data erasion instruction 103 tothe electronic apparatus 30 via the management interface 11. After theelectronic apparatus 30 receives the data erasion instruction 103 sentfrom the cloud management platform 10 via the network communicationcomponent 333, the microprocessor 331 of the program executionmanagement device 33 will transmit the data erasion instruction 103 tothe controller 313 via the connection line 3312, and then the controller313 of the data storage device 31 will execute a data erasion program323 according to the requirement of the data erasion instruction 103.During the execution of the data erasion program 323, the controller 313erases data 3111 in partial block 3110 of the flash memories 311 or data3111 in all block 3110 of the flash memories 311. The controller 313will generate a message 363 indicating the completion of erasion of dataafter the data erasion program 323 has executed. The program executionmanagement device 33 receives the message 363 from the controller 313via the connection line 3312, and transmits the message 363 to the cloudmanagement platform 10 via the network communication component 333. Themanager of the cloud management platform 10 can know that the data 3111in the electronic apparatus 30 has been erased after the cloudmanagement platform 10 receives the message 363 indicating thecompletion of erasion of data. Accordingly, the manager of the cloudmanagement platform 10 can remotely erase the data 3111 stored in thedata storage device 31 of the electronic apparatus 30 before theelectronic apparatus 30 is ready to be scrapped to prevent the risk ofleakage of confidential data.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is a circuit diagram of the electronicapparatus according to another application embodiment of the presentinvention, and referring to FIG. 1, simultaneously. In this presentembodiment, the manager of the cloud management platform 10 can controlthat the electronic apparatus 30 executes an operation of physicaldestruction, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6. When the manager of thecloud management platform 10 wants that the electronic apparatus 30executes the operation of physical destruction, he sends a physicaldestruction instruction 104 to the electronic apparatus 30 via themanagement interface 11. After the electronic apparatus 30 receives thephysical destruction instruction 104 sent from the cloud managementplatform 10 via the network communication component 333, themicroprocessor 331 of the program execution management device 33 willtransmit the physical destruction instruction 104 to the controller 313via the connection line 3312, and then the controller 313 of the datastorage device 31 will execute a physical destruction program 324according to the requirement of the operation instruction 104. Duringthe execution of the physical destruction program 324, a high voltagecircuit 315 between the flash memories 311 and the controller 313 willbe enabled by the controller 313 to output a high voltage to the flashmemories 311, such that memory cells of the flash memories 311 will bedestroyed by the high voltage. The controller 313 will generate amessage 364 indicating the completion of physical destruction after thephysical destruction program 324 has executed. The program executionmanagement device 33 receives the message 364 from the controller 313via the connection line 3312, and transmits the message 364 to the cloudmanagement platform 10 via the network communication component 333. Themanager of the cloud management platform 10 can know that the flashmemories 311 of the electronic apparatus 30 has been destroyed after thecloud management platform 10 receives the message 364 indicating thecompletion of physical destruction. Accordingly, when an abnormalityevent occurs, for example, the electronic apparatus 30 is stolen byothers, the manager of the cloud management platform 10 can remotelydestroy the flash memories 311 of the data storage device 31 to preventthe confidential data stored in the flash memory 311 to be stolen byothers.

Referring to FIG. 7, there is a circuit diagram of the electronicapparatus according to another application embodiment of the presentinvention, and referring to FIG. 1, simultaneously. In this presentembodiment, the flash memories 311 of the data storage device 31 isformed with a data sector 312, at least one partition 3121 is cut outfrom the data sector 312 by the controller 313, the manager of the cloudmanagement platform 10 can execute an operation for write protection tothe partition 3121 of the flash memories 311, as shown in FIG. 1 andFIG. 7. When the manager of the cloud management platform 10 wants thatthe electronic apparatus 30 executes the operation of write protectionto the partition 3121 of the flash memories 311, he sends a writeprotection setting instruction 105 to the electronic apparatus 30 viathe management interface 11. After the electronic apparatus 30 receivesthe write protection setting instruction 105 sent from the cloudmanagement platform 10 via the network communication component 333, themicroprocessor 331 of the program execution management device 33 willtransmit the write protection setting instruction 105 to the controller313 via the connection line 3312, and then the controller 313 of thedata storage device 31 will execute a write protection setting program325 according to the requirement of the write protection settinginstruction 105. During the execution of the write protection settingprogram 325, the controller 313 sets the partition 3121 of the flashmemories 311 to be a read-only area for prohibiting to be written. Thecontroller 313 will generate a message 365 indicating the completion ofsetting write protection after the write protection setting program 325has executed. The program execution management device 33 receives themessage 365 from the controller 313 via the connection line 3312, andtransmits the message 365 to the cloud management platform 10 via thenetwork communication component 333. The manager of the cloud managementplatform 10 can know that the write protection of the flash memories 311of the electronic apparatus 30 has been set after the cloud managementplatform 10 receives the message 365 indicating the completion ofsetting write protection. Accordingly, the manager of the cloudmanagement platform 10 can remotely set the partition 3121 of the flashmemories 311 to be a read-only area for prohibiting the writing of data,so that the specific data stored in the partition 3121 will avoid to beoverwritten by other data and therefore lost.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is a circuit diagram of the electronicapparatus according to another application embodiment of the presentinvention, and referring to FIG. 1, simultaneously. In this presentembodiment, the manager of the cloud management platform 10 can executean operation of updating the firmware of the electronic apparatus 30, asshown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 8. When the manager of the cloud managementplatform 10 wants that the electronic apparatus 30 executes theoperation of updating firmware, he sends an updating firmwareinstruction 106 to the electronic apparatus 30 via the managementinterface 11. The operation instruction 106 includes a firmware updatingfile 1061. After the electronic apparatus 30 receives the updatingfirmware instruction 106 sent from the cloud management platform 10 viathe network communication component 333, the microprocessor 331 of theprogram execution management device 33 will transmit the updatingfirmware instruction 106 to the controller 313 via the connection line3312, and then the controller 313 of the data storage device 31 willexecute an updating firmware program 326 according to the requirement ofthe updating firmware instruction 106. During the execution of theupdating firmware program 326, the controller 313 updates the firmware3131 by the firmware updating file 1061 in the updating firmwareinstruction 106. The controller 313 will generate a message 366indicating the completion of updating firmware after the updatingfirmware program 326 has executed. The program execution managementdevice 33 receives the message 366 from the controller 313 via theconnection line 3312, and transmits the message 366 to the cloudmanagement platform 10 via the network communication component 333. Themanager of the cloud management platform 10 can know that the firmware3131 of the electronic apparatus 30 has been updated after the cloudmanagement platform 10 receives the message 366 indicating thecompletion of updating firmware. Accordingly, the manager of the cloudmanagement platform 10 is able to remotely update the programs definedin the firmware 3131 of the electronic apparatus 30 at any time, so thatthe manager of the cloud management platform 10 can remotely controlthat the electronic apparatus 30 executes the operations of a variety ofprogram.

The six embodiments in the above described are only partiallyimplementation of the present invention. In actual application, theprograms of other applications may be further defined or set in thefirmware 3131 of the electronic apparatus 30, so that the manager of thecloud management platform 10 in the remote end can control that theelectronic apparatus 30 executes the operations of a variety of program.

As the above described, the manager of the cloud management platform 10can remotely manage the programs executed by the controller 313 of thedata storage device 31 via the program execution management device 33.During the program execution management device 33 managing the programsexecuted by the controller 313, the microprocessor 331 of the programexecution management device 33 can directly communicate with thecontroller 313 of the data storage device 31 via a dedicated connectionline 3312 without the assistance of the operating system and the datatransmission channel. Even if the operating system of the data storagedevice 31 fails or the data storage device 31 does not has the operatingsystem, the manager of the cloud management platform 10 at the remoteend, via the program execution management device 33, can still controlthat the controller 313 of the data storage device 31 executes theoperation of the specific program.

Referring to FIG. 9, there is shown a flowchart of a method capable ofremotely controlling the electronic apparatus to execute programaccording to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, firstly, in StepS51, the program execution management device 33 of the electronicapparatus 30 is communicated with the cloud management platform 10 viathe network communication component 333. In Step S53, the programexecution management device 33 receives a specific operation instruction101, 102, 103, 104, 105, or 106 sent from the cloud management platform10. In Step S55, the program execution management device 33 transmitsthe specific operation instruction 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, or 106 tothe controller 313 of the data storage device 31 via the connection line3312. In Step S57, the controller 313 executes a corresponding operationprogram 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, or 326 according to the specificoperation instruction 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, or 106 so as to generateat least one execution message related to the specific operation. InStep S59, the program execution management device 33 receives theexecution message related to the specific operation from the controller313 of the data storage device 31 via the connection line 3312, andtransmits the execution message related to the specific operation to thecloud management platform 10 via the network communication component333. The manager of the cloud management platform 10 can know that thespecific operation program 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, or 326 has beenexecuted by the electronic apparatus 30 after the cloud managementplatform 10 receives the execution message related to the specificoperation.

In one application embodiment of the present invention, the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform 10 is aninstruction 101 for collecting the health information of the datastorage device 31. After Steps S51, S53, and S55 has executed, thecontroller 313 will receive the instruction 101. Then, in Steps S57, thecontroller 313 executes a program 321 for collecting the healthinformation of the data storage device 31 according to the instruction101, and generates a file 361 containing the health information of thedata storage device 31 after the program 321 for collecting the healthinformation of the data storage device 31 has executed. Finally, in theStep S59, the program execution management device 33 receives the file361 containing the health information of the data storage device 31 fromthe controller 313, and transmits the file 361 containing the healthinformation of the data storage device 31 to the cloud managementplatform 10.

In another application embodiment of the present invention, the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform 10 is adata encryption instruction 102. After Steps S51, S53, and S55 hasexecuted, the controller 313 will receive the data encryptioninstruction 102. Then, in Steps S57, the controller 313 executes a dataencryption program 322 according to the data encryption instruction 102to encrypt data stored in the flash memory 311 by the encryption key1021 of the data encryption instruction 102, and generates a message 362indicating the completion of encryption of data after the dataencryption program 322 has executed. Finally, in the Step S59, theprogram execution management device 33 receives the message 362indicating the completion of encryption of data from the controller 313,and transmits the message 362 indicating the completion of encryption ofdata to the cloud management platform 10.

In another application embodiment of the present invention, the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform 10 is adata erasion instruction 103. After Steps S51, S53, and S55 hasexecuted, the controller 313 will receive the data erasion instruction103. Then, in Steps S57, the controller 313 executes a data erasionprogram 323 according to the data erasion instruction 103 to erase datastored in the block 3110 of the flash memories 311, and generates amessage 363 indicating the completion of erasion of data after the dataerasion program 323 has executed. Finally, in the Step S59, the programexecution management device 33 receives the message 363 indicating thecompletion of erasion of data from the controller 313, and transmits themessage 363 indicating the completion of erasion of data to the cloudmanagement platform 10.

In another application embodiment of the present invention, the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform 10 is aphysical destruction instruction 104. After Steps S51, S53, and S55 hasexecuted, the controller 313 will receive the physical destructioninstruction 104. Then, in Steps S57, the controller 313 executes aphysical destruction program 324 according to the physical destructioninstruction 104 to destroy the memory cells of the flash memories 311 bya high voltage, and generates a message 364 indicating the completion ofphysical destruction after the physical destruction program 324 hasexecuted. Finally, in the Step S59, the program execution managementdevice 33 receives the message 364 indicating the completion of physicaldestruction, and transmits the message 364 indicating the completion ofdestruction of physical element to the cloud management platform 10.

In another application embodiment of the present invention, the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform 10 is awrite protection setting instruction 105. After Steps S51, S53, and S55has executed, the controller 313 will receive the write protectionsetting instruction 105. Then, in Steps S57, the controller 313 executesa write protection setting program 325 according to the write protectionsetting instruction 105 to set the partition 3121 of the flash memories311 to be a read-only area, and then generates a message 365 indicatingthe completion of setting write protection after the write protectionsetting program 325 has executed. Finally, in the Step S59, the programexecution management device 33 receives the message 365 indicating thecompletion of setting write protection, and transmits the message 365indicating the completion of setting write protection to the cloudmanagement platform 10.

In another application embodiment of the present invention, the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform 10 is anupdating firmware instruction 106. After Steps S51, S53, and S55 hasexecuted, the controller 313 will receives the updating firmwareinstruction 106. Then, in Steps S57, the controller 313 executes anupdating firmware program 326 according to the updating firmwareinstruction 106 to update the firmware 3131 by the firmware updatingfile 1061 in the updating firmware instruction 106, and then generates amessage 366 indicating the completion of updating firmware after theoperation program 326 has executed. Finally, in the Step S59, theprogram execution management device 33 receives the message 366indicating the completion of updating firmware, and transmits themessage 366 indicating the completion of updating firmware to the cloudmanagement platform 10.

The above disclosure is only the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, and not used for limiting the scope of the present invention.All equivalent variations and modifications on the basis of shapes,structures, features and spirits described in claims of the presentinvention should be included in the claims of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system capable of remotely controllingelectronic apparatus to execute program, comprising: a cloud managementplatform, comprising a management interface; and at least one electronicapparatus, each of the electronic apparatuses comprising: a data storagedevice comprising a plurality of flash memories and a controllerconnected to the flash memories, the controller comprising a firmware,wherein, a plurality of operation programs are defined in the firmware;and a program execution management device comprising a microprocessorand a network communication component connected to the microprocessor,wherein the program execution management device is communicated with thecloud management platform via the network communication component, andthe microprocessor of the program execution management device isconnected to the controller of the data storage device via a connectionline; wherein the cloud management platform sends a specific operationinstruction to the program execution management device when the cloudmanagement platform wants that the electronic apparatus executes aspecific operation, the microprocessor of the program executionmanagement device transmits the specific operation instruction to thecontroller of the data storage device; afterwards, the controllerexecutes the corresponding operation program according to the specificoperation instruction to generate an execution message related to thespecific operation, and transmits the execution message related to thespecific operation to the cloud management platform.
 2. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the microprocessor of the programexecution management device is equipped with an embedded system, whichis used to manage the operation programs executed by the controller. 3.The system according to claim 1, wherein the specific operationinstruction sent from the cloud management platform is an instructionfor collecting health information of the data storage device, thecontroller executes a program for collecting health information of thedata storage device according to the instruction for collecting healthinformation of the data storage device, and generates a file containingthe health information of the data storage device; afterwards, theprogram execution management device receives the file containing thehealth information of the data storage device from the controller viathe connection line, and transmits the file containing the healthinformation of the data storage device to the cloud management platformvia the network communication component.
 4. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the specific operation instruction sent from the cloudmanagement platform is a data encryption instruction, the dataencryption instruction includes an encryption key, the controllerexecutes a data encryption program according to the data encryptioninstruction to encrypt data in the flash memories by the encryption keyin the data encryption instruction, and generates a message indicatingthe completion of encryption of data after the data encryption programhas executed; afterwards, the program execution management devicereceives the message indicating the completion of encryption of datafrom the controller via the connection line, and transmits the messageindicating the completion of encryption of data to the cloud managementplatform via the network communication component.
 5. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the data storage device further comprisesan encryption chip connected to the controller and the flash memories,the specific operation instruction sent from the cloud managementplatform is a data encryption instruction, the controller executes adata encryption program according to the data encryption instruction toencrypt data in the flash memories by the encryption chip, and generatesa message indicating the completion of encryption of data after the dataencryption program has executed; afterwards, the program executionmanagement device receives the message indicating the completion ofencryption of data from the controller via the connection line, andtransmits the message indicating the completion of encryption of data tothe cloud management platform via the network communication component.6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the specific operationinstruction sent from the cloud management platform is a data erasioninstruction, the controller executes a data erasion program according tothe data erasion instruction to erase data in blocks of the flashmemories, and generates a message indicating the completion of erasionof data after the data erasion program has executed; afterwards, theprogram execution management device receives the message indicating thecompletion of erasion of data from the controller via the connectionline, and transmits the message indicating the completion of erasion ofdata to the cloud management platform via the network communicationcomponent.
 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform is aphysical destruction instruction, the controller executes a physicaldestruction program according to the physical destruction instruction todestroy the flash memories by a high voltage that is outputted from ahigh voltage circuit enabled by the controller, and generates a messageindicating the completion of physical destruction after the physicaldestruction program has executed; afterwards, the program executionmanagement device receives the message indicating the completion ofphysical destruction from the controller via the connection line, andtransmits the message indicating the completion of physical destructionto the cloud management platform via the network communicationcomponent.
 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the flashmemories of the data storage device is formed with a data sector, atleast one partition is cut out from the data sector by the controller,the specific operation instruction sent from the cloud managementplatform is a write protection setting instruction, the controllerexecutes a write protection setting program according to the writeprotection setting instruction to set the partition of the flashmemories to be a read-only area for prohibiting to be written, andgenerates a message indicating the completion of setting writeprotection after the write protection setting program has executed;afterwards, the program execution management device receives the messageindicating the completion of setting write protection from thecontroller via the connection line, and transmits the message indicatingthe completion of setting write protection to the cloud managementplatform via the network communication component.
 9. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the specific operation instruction sentfrom the cloud management platform is an updating firmware instruction,the updating firmware instruction includes a firmware updating file, thecontroller executes an updating firmware program according to theupdating firmware instruction to update the firmware of the controllerby the firmware updating file in the updating firmware instruction, andgenerates a message indicating the completion of updating firmware afterthe updating firmware program has executed; afterwards, the programexecution management device receives the message indicating thecompletion of updating firmware from the controller via the connectionline, and transmits the message indicating the completion of updatingfirmware to the cloud management platform via the network communicationcomponent.
 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein themicroprocessor of the program execution management device is a chip withnetwork communication function, the network communication component isintegrated in the microprocessor.
 11. The system according to claim 1,the electronic apparatus further comprises a circuit board, the flashmemories and the controller of the data storage device and themicroprocessor and the network communication component of the programexecution management device are disposed on the circuit board.
 12. Thesystem according to claim 1, the electronic apparatus comprises a firstcircuit board and a second circuit board, the flash memories and thecontroller of the data storage device are disposed on the first circuitboard, and the microprocessor and the network communication component ofthe program execution management device are disposed on the secondcircuit board.
 13. The system according to claim 1, wherein themicroprocessor of the program execution management device is connectedto the controller of the data storage device via the connection lineconforming to RS232 specification, UART specification, or I2Cspecification.
 14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the datastorage device is a data storage device having a SATA transmissioninterface, a PCIe transmission interface or an M.2 transmissioninterface.
 15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the networkcommunication component is a WiFi communication component, an Ethernetcommunication component, or a 3G 4G or 5G communication component.
 16. Amethod capable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus to executeprogram, which is applied to a system capable of remotely controllingelectronic apparatus to execute program, the system comprises a cloudmanagement platform and at least one electronic apparatus, theelectronic apparatus comprises a data storage device and a programexecution management device, the data storage device comprises aplurality of flash memories and a controller, the controller comprises afirmware, a plurality of operation programs are defines in the firmware,the program execution management device comprises a microprocessor thatis having a network communication function and equipped with an embeddedsystem, the microprocessor of the program execution management device isconnected to the controller of the data storage device via a connectionline, steps of the method capable of remotely controlling electronicapparatus to execute program comprising: requiring the program executionmanagement device to communicate with the cloud management platform;requiring the program execution management device to receive a specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform; requiringthe program execution management device to transmit the specificoperation instruction to the controller of the data storage device;requiring the controller of the data storage device to execute aspecific operation of the corresponding operation program according tothe specific operation instruction and generate an execution messagerelated to the specific operation; and requiring the program executionmanagement device to receive the execution message related to thespecific operation from the controller of the data storage device viathe connection line and transmit the execution message related to thespecific operation to the cloud management platform.
 17. The methodaccording to claim 16, wherein the specific operation instruction sentfrom the cloud management platform is an instruction for collectinghealth information of the data storage device, the steps of the methodcapable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus to execute programcomprising: requiring the controller to execute a program for collectinghealth information of the data storage device according to theinstruction for collecting health information of the data storage deviceand generate a file containing the health information of the datastorage device; and requiring the program execution management device toreceive the file containing the health information of the data storagedevice from the controller of the data storage device via the connectionline and transmit the file containing the health information of the datastorage device to the cloud management platform.
 18. The methodaccording to claim 16, wherein the specific operation instruction sentfrom the cloud management platform is a data encryption instruction, thedata encryption instruction includes an encryption key, the steps of themethod capable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus to executeprogram comprising: requiring the controller to execute a dataencryption program according to the data encryption instruction toencrypt data in the flash memories by the encryption key in the dataencryption instruction; requiring the controller to generate a messageindicating the completion of encryption of data after the dataencryption program has executed; and requiring the program executionmanagement device to receive the message indicating the completion ofencryption of data from the controller of the data storage device viathe connection line and transmit the message indicating the completionof encryption of data to the cloud management platform.
 19. The methodaccording to claim 16, wherein the specific operation instruction sentfrom the cloud management platform is a data encryption instruction, thedata storage device further comprises an encryption chip, the steps ofthe method capable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus toexecute program comprising: requiring the controller to execute a dataencryption program according to the data encryption instruction toencrypt data in the flash memories by the encryption chip; requiring thecontroller to generate a message indicating the completion of encryptionof data after the data encryption program has executed; and requiringthe program execution management device to receive the messageindicating the completion of encryption of data from the controller ofthe data storage device via the connection line and transmit the messageindicating the completion of encryption of data to the cloud managementplatform.
 20. The method according to claim 16, wherein the specificoperation instruction sent from the cloud management platform is a dataerasion instruction, the steps of the method capable of remotelycontrolling electronic apparatus to execute program comprising:requiring the controller to execute a data erasion program according tothe data erasion instruction to erase data in blocks of the flashmemories; requiring the controller to generate a message indicating thecompletion of erasion of data after the data erasion program hasexecuted; and requiring the program execution management device toreceive the message indicating the completion of erasion of data fromthe controller of the data storage device via the connection line andtransmit the message indicating the completion of erasion of data to thecloud management platform.
 21. The method according to claim 16, whereinthe specific operation instruction sent from the cloud managementplatform is a physical destruction instruction, the steps of the methodcapable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus to execute programcomprising: requiring the controller to execute a physical destructionprogram according to the physical destruction instruction to destroy theflash memories by a high voltage; requiring the controller to generate amessage indicating the completion of physical destruction after thephysical destruction program has executed; and requiring the programexecution management device to receive the message indicating thecompletion of physical destruction from the controller of the datastorage device via the connection line and transmit the messageindicating the completion of physical destruction to the cloudmanagement platform.
 22. The method according to claim 16, wherein theflash memories of the data storage device is formed with a data sector,at least one partition is cut out from the data sector by thecontroller, the specific operation instruction sent from the cloudmanagement platform is a write protection setting instruction, the stepsof the method capable of remotely controlling electronic apparatus toexecute program comprising: requiring the controller to execute a writeprotection setting program according to the write protection settinginstruction to set the partition of the flash memories to be a read-onlyarea for prohibiting to be written; requiring the controller to generatea message indicating the completion of setting write protection afterthe write protection setting program has executed; and requiring theprogram execution management device to receive the message indicatingthe completion of setting write protection from the controller of thedata storage device via the connection line and transmit the messageindicating the completion of setting write protection to the cloudmanagement platform.
 23. The method according to claim 16, where thespecific operation instruction sent from the cloud management platformis an updating firmware instruction, the updating firmware instructionincludes a firmware updating file, the steps of the method capable ofremotely controlling electronic apparatus to execute program comprising:requiring the controller to execute an updating firmware programaccording to the updating firmware instruction to update the firmware ofthe controller by the firmware updating file in the updating firmwareinstruction; requiring the controller to generate a message indicatingthe completion of updating firmware after the updating firmware programhas executed; and requiring the program execution management device toreceive the message indicating the completion of updating firmware fromthe controller of the data storage device via the connection line andtransmit the message indicating the completion of updating firmware tothe cloud management platform.